Food is important. There is no point in even arguing. We humans go to extraordinary lengths to enjoy food. Not only is it central to our cultures and even personal identities, but we also seem to have been shamefully comfortable destroying nature, devastating wildlife populations, or even putting ourselves in dangerous situations to get the food we want most.  

From the first time I got interested in food loss as a social issue, I worked on projects to think, act, and change. And these things written below are the portfolio.

Key word:

Food loss, Non-Substandard Vegetables, Food bank

I focused on 3 different topics related to food loss.

First, is school lunch. This was the most familiar food loss topic that I started with.

Second, is the food bank. To inquire about this topic, I went to a volunteer foodbank and learned practically.

Third is non-standard vegetables. While inquiring about this topic, I had international interaction and fieldwork to deepen my understanding and broaden my perspective.

In this report, I will write what I did and learned through addressing these 3 topics.

My interest in food loss began with school lunches. When I was in second grade in junior high school, I became concerned about the large amount of leftover food that was produced every day. Therefore, I decided to initiate a project to reduce the amount of school lunch leftovers. Specifically, I measured the number of leftovers in each class, posted the data to visualize the quantity, and presented the standard portion size each day.

This project was successful in three ways. First, I was able to reduce the amount of leftover food during the period I conducted the project, decreasing by about 24 kilograms in total. Second, by visualizing the actual number of leftovers produced each day, students became more aware of their responsibility toward food waste. Third, the panel I created to inform students of the standard portion size is still displayed even four years later.

After addressing the issue of leftovers, I shifted my focus to utilizing leftover foods through food banks. By broadening my perspective on food waste, I became aware of the efforts by NPOs to redistribute surplus food to those in need. This led me to volunteer at Japan’s first food bank, Second Harvest Japan. My experience there made me realize the importance of community connections in effectively utilizing resources. For example, surplus products from a local cookie factory were distributed to children. Also, I opened a large surplus of food packages that the government prepared for COVID-19-infected people. Additionally, through interacting with volunteered people there, I became aware of the food loss that occurs even before it can be addressed.

Figure1. Volunteer to Second Harvest Japan

This leads to the next project theme: using non-standard vegetables. Today, most stores have high standards for food quality, resulting in significant vegetable waste. Therefore, I decided to focus on utilizing these non-standard vegetables.

The first step I took was to research examples of companies that make use of non-standard vegetables. Among the various cases, I was particularly impressed by the concept of upcycling these vegetables into dried foods, edible vegetable sheets, and other everyday products such as soap, socks, and shopping bags. Secondly, I participated in a program where high school students from Japan and the US discussed the topic of a sustainable society. I introduced the topic of non-standard vegetables into the discussion. By the end of the program, I had developed the idea of “biodegradable packaging made from non-standard vegetables,” which involves using these vegetables as an alternative source for plastic packaging. To put this idea into practice, I conducted research at several stores around Omiya Station to assess the demand for such a product, verified its feasibility through academic reports, and presented the idea to receive feedback from various perspectives.

To conclude my long-term food loss project, I shifted the focus of the project to public relations. Specifically, I broadened my perspective and shared my experiences related to food loss by interviewing and discussing with cafeterias that demonstrate a high level of awareness regarding food waste. Additionally, I made a speech in English about this topic and also conducted a class at an elementary school to teach students about substandard vegetables.

I interviewed the staff at 大黒屋食堂. At their restaurant, they strive to minimize food loss by limiting the number of meals served each day, adjusting portion sizes according to customer needs, and proactively using non-standard vegetables directly sourced from farms. I was deeply impressed by their dedication to this cause, as well as the challenges they face in balancing environmental sustainability with financial management.

I won second place in the Keiai speech contest which I think is connecting to provide a chance to make people think and be aware of food loss. As for the class with elementary school students, the participants showed great interest in the topic. This was further validated by the results of a follow-up survey, which objectively demonstrated their engagement.

These are what I did and what I learned in the past 2 years of high school.

Food loss never can be a simple issue.

But at the same time, it is a very familiar issue for all of us.

All of the small projects I worked on did not make any big changes. However, I think it enables our immediate sphere of influence to act for planetary good.

Through these experiences, I couldn’t come up with one correct answer to solve food loss but, I learned many of the things written above, and more than anything, I learned the importance of trying to think, act, and change.